Not Cartoons
by medicgirl
Summary: A mishap leaves MacGyver in pain and under Jack's care


I own nothing but a laptop and an awesome DVD collection.

A/N: Laid up with a horrifically painful back injury, this came to my mind. Watching the same "cartoon" with my stepson turned into a lesson on Star Trek. Until I tried to sit up...

Jack knew the kid would die before he would admit to hurting, that even to him, MacGyver would rate a blowtorch to the chest as an annoyance out loud. Fortunately (or unfortunately), his body betrayed him. His normally pale skin was nearly ghostly, his wild blond hair slicked down with sweat. In an excuse for the sweat, he had shed his shirt and Jack could see the muscles spasming in his lower back. Jack knew how badly the kid's injury had to hurt, wished there was something he could do.

It had been all Mac could do to hold onto the suspect when the railing gave way behind him. Jack had run up all eight flights of stairs to help him, but in that time, Mac managed to pull half a dozen muscles in his back. By the time they had pulled him up and handcuffed him, it was all Mac could do to stand upright. Bands of bruises criss-crossed his lower back as fragile blood vessels ruptured against the pressure. The Chicago cop had guided the suspect Mac had saved into the cop car, MacGyver had literally leaned on Jack like a hurt child.

At the ER, the kid had laid the bed flat then himself flat upon it except for the occasional 'the pain is too much' curl into a tight ball. He couldn't lay still and was in near continuous squirming until a nurse came in with a syringe. The kid hated needles, but was ready to beg for that one. Jack had no idea what was in it, but it made the rest of the night more entertaining...

The next morning though, after their private flight home (which thanks to the good drugs, the kid slept through), Jack was at Mac's place dealing with a very bored and badly hurting boy who was acting more like a kid than usual.

Plopped facedown on the couch, he propped himself up a little on his elbows and was dilligently taking his watch apart. He muttered a curse under his breath as his mini screwdriver slipped through medication-impaired fingers. "Jack! Can you hand me my screwdriver?!"

As Jack hurried into the room, a flood of emotion overtook him. He hated to see the kid hurting and it was clear even the pain meds and muscle relaxers weren't helping that much. It also mildly terrified him to see the kid so bored. It was not beyond the kid's capabilities, even when drugged, to be somewhat destructive and Jack didn't want him to build some kid of bomb out of his watch and a paper clip just to pass the time.

"I got another idea," he said. "How about we watch those new DVDs you were so excited about? You never even told me what they were..."

Mac's eyes lit up. "Yeah! Great idea, Jack! Brown box by the TV, you gotta watch it with me, OK?"

Thrilled to see MacGyver smiling and not building a potential explosives, he went to the mailing box and pulled out a white and orange box. His face scrunched up in confusion. "Cartoons? Seriously?! Look, I know I call you Kid, but really?"

Looking a different kind of hurt, Mac looked at his friend. "It's not just cartoons, Jack! It's Star Trek: The Animated Series! It is a legit Star Trek franchise, has all the voices except Chekov-" At that, he tried to push himself upright and bit back a harsh cry as it felt like sandpaper scraped across his lower spinal bones. His arms dropped out from under him as he tightened in on himself against the pain.

The cartoons in question dropped onto the entertainment center as Jack rushed to him, easing him over onto his side. He quickly gathered the watch parts as Mac curled into a ball. Sweaty blond hair fell into his face as he eased his head back onto the throw pillow Jack put under him. He had been beaten, tortured, and injured before, but back pain was a whole new world. All pain in the body goes through there, and when it comes from there, it can drop and wring tears from the strongest man. Jack knew this from personal experience. No tears fell from the agonized blue eyes, but they met Jack's swimming a little. "Damn, Jack..."

Those two words conveyed the sheer misery the kid was in and tore something in Jack's gut. His face twisted in sympathetic pain and he pulled the muscle relaxer out of his pocket. It was overdue and MacGyver had refused it before. He reached for it eagerly now, dry-swallowing it before Jack could hand him the now lukewarm water. Instead, he dug his fingers into Mac's shoulder, grounding the kid.

"That's it, kid, it will ease up, I promise. I've been there, I know it hurts..." He kept up the litany of near-meaningless words until he felt the muscles in the tense shoulder start to relax. "Ok, kid, it's ok. Is there anything can do to make you more comfortable?" A quick shake of his head was the only reply. "Ok, then, we will watch your cartoons. In precisely two hours, you will take your pain medicine with no complaints. Since they hurt your stomach, I'll have you a grilled cheese and some tomato soup to go with it. Sound like a good plan?"

Clearing his throat, Mac forced a weak grin. "Not bad, considering the source."

"Now listen," Jack said mock-sternly. "You want to make the plans, don't include cartoons in them!"

Without further words, he opened the case and inserted one of his friend's new DVDs. Throwing a fleece wolf-patterned blanket over the kid on the couch, he settled in to the recliner to watch animated Star Trek. /there was no one else he would do this for.

After a few moments, a less pain-filled and more drowsy voice spoke up from under the wolf blanket. "It's not just a cartoon!"


End file.
